Urban Living Room

The site is a part of a transforming industrial area of Amsterdam. Stretched in the east-west direction, it is situated in-between two future main public backbones: a city boulevard to the south and a linear park planned along the rail line to the north. While such a position undoubtedly makes the site attractive for development, the noise pollution coming from both of the directions challenges the spatial concept.

Dealing with this contradictory condition we propose a concept consisting of two residential urban blocks edged by the existing street pattern. The blocks are organized around the inner courtyards that guarantee a critical level of internal spatial quality, independent from the context. They both stand on the plinths that create place for an array of public and commercial functions, firmly integrating the project into the future urban fabric of the area.

The project is a part of a sequence of proposals we have continuously been making for similar situations throughout the Netherlands. Spatial and programmatic transformations of the former industrial areas in Dutch cities are more essential than ever. Environmental issues being a key part of virtually every single political agenda call for compactization and reinterpretation of the existing urban fabric instead of its expansion via green-field developments. At the same time, environmental hazards, such as air quality and noise pollution, as well as sub-optimal accessibility and absence of social infrastructure challenge such projects and call for unconventional and often unprecedented solutions.